AA little while back I was incredibly fortunate to go along to the unveiling of the Design Museum’s 2019 exhibition programme, on its own this was a thing of wonder but this was where the Design Museum was to announce that the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition was finally coming to London. This is kind of a huge deal for film fans.

Since 2004 a Stanley Kubrick Exhibition has been touring the globe, engaging Kubrick aficionados, film lovers and film makers from Germany, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, Amsterdam, USA, Brazil, Poland, Canada, Mexico, Korea and Denmark. (Yes, I have been tracking it)

But, now for the first time ever the exhibition - will be on public display here in Kubrick's adopted home - the UK at the Design Museum, next year.

Additionally this was a rare opportunity to hear first hand from people that knew Stanley Kubrick and worked with him, as well as discuss details of the upcoming Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition.

The announcement will include an exclusive panel discussion, featuring long-time Stanley Kubrick collaborator Jan Harlan in conversation with Alan Yentob from the BBC, Deyan Sudjic Director of the Design Museum and Stuart Brown Head of Programme and Acquisitions at the BFI

I’ve on occasion had the pleasure of meeting Jan HarlanStanley Kubrick's Executive Producer and brother-in-law and have found him to be intensely passionate and able to converse with some authority on a wide variety of diverse topics.

He is also surprisingly frank, or at least not as guarded as one would imagine given the air of mystery surrounding Stanley Kubrick & his work and quick to dispel untruths or tell you if he is unsure of something related to Kubrick (there's not much).

So I was keen to hear Harlans' insight into working with his brother-in-law for over 30 years and what to expect from the Stanley Kubrick: Exhibition.

The announcement of the Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition is timely as, arguably, Kubrick’s greatest cinematic achievement 2001: A Space Odyssey had its 50th Anniversary this year. Half a century and 2001 is still as engaging as it was on its release.

Have I mentioned yet that they would be bringing some of Kubrick’s personal artefacts along for perusal?

I arrived a little earlier than anticipated and had some time to grab a coffee and wander around the Design Museum. I’ve visited a couple of times since the museum relocated from its previous Shad Thames location and I'm still amazed by the astounding building and fascinating and innovative displays every time I’m there.

Alice Black, Co-Director of the Design Museum kicked the session off by discussing the Museum and 2018:

All the more poignant after Alice delivered a glimpse at some stats – there are 4.6% Women product designers in the UK, about the same percentage for Industrial Designer. But when comparing these figures to the percentage of females studying design - 63% - a startling disparity is revealed.

Every year since 2008 hundreds of design experts from around the world nominate the most innovative designs from the past 12 months. Experience up close this year's 87 nominated projects across fashion, architecture, digital, transport, product and graphic design.

Amongst the many innovative and compelling pieces on display I discovered a video installation of Territory Studio’s interfaces used in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049. I had no idea these were on display and would have certainly made the effort to come along for a viewing had I known. I hasten to add this single display does not represent the entire width and breadth of Beazley Designs of the Year Exhibition it is just work I am attuned to.

Next up was Justin McGurick, Chief Curator of The Design Museum who revealed further highlights from the 2019 Programme.

Then on to the main feature – the discussion focussed on Kubrick and the Stanley Kubrick: Exhibition.

As is my practise I have tidied the discussion up a little and adjusted the grammar from the spoken to the written word without changing the meaning or intention of what was said. I have also added additional information in [square brackets].

Deyan Sudjic Director of the Design Museum discusses Stanley Kubrick and how the UK Stanley Kubrick: Exhibition came about

The reason we are here today is - Alan Yentob, who accosted me at St. Pancras Station about 18 Months ago and said:

“Now! We should do a show about Stanley Kubrick. I have just been to see Jan Harlan his partner in crime, (his brother-in-law).”

And I thought yes! What a good idea, why haven’t we done this before?

Next year we will be opening the show, almost 20 years after Stanley’s death.

He was a figure that many people still don’t realise spent the best part of his career in Britain. He created these remarkable worlds from 2001 through to Full Metal Jacket, set in Vietnam in and around London. He was very much a London based director. His films were full of revolutionary design and extraordinary architecture.

He was one of the last directors that had creative control [this was slightly amusing as although Kubrick’s vision is always realised on screen, the struggles and lengths he would go to circumvent bureaucracy, interference and studio decision making is a thing of lore] such a remarkable story, so many things to say, so much to look at and here we are with his presence hovering over us.

His directors chair over there. It’s amazing how that chair has become, his mark of authority, and that an individual can shape and create.

And my answer would be; it’s what so special about any great artist, namely that the work doesn’t disappear. That’s the real test. And his 13 films are all still here.

Paths of Glory is unrivalled, Dr Strangelove is unfortunately as current as it can be, 2001, absolutely we are as ignorant as ever about what is out there and it’s a bow to the unknowable. Right down to Eyes Wide Shut, a film he wrote on for 30 years. He bought the rights for Traumnovelle Zusammenfassung in 1970. It was the most difficult film he made in his life.

He tried again, again and again to make it and gave up. Finally he made it and was very pleased with it.

Vincent Van Gogh never sold a painting in his life other than to his brother Theo. That doesn’t count.

He had to be happy himself, with what he did, that was it.

People say Oh! He was demanding, of course he was demanding. But he was demanding of himself first. I keep saying that, as so much is written about him being a perfectionist and that kind of stuff. Yes, he was not a slob when it came to his work. That is true.

All that I can say is that - the most special part about him, and I work with film schools all over the world and I keep telling students and other people who are interested:

Look at what matters. What matters is that you approach a film, a short film or whatever it is, like you would approach a love affair. It changes all priorities. That is what I experienced and why I worked with Stanley for 30 years. That is why I enjoyed it so much.

I met Stanley much earlier; I met him in 1963/64 when I lived in New York. I hadn’t the slightest intention to work with him - but I met him and Arthur C. Clarke, he was married to my sister and they came with Dr. Strangelove from London with the three children, so I would see them casually all the time.

It was many years later that he would ask me to join for a year on Napoleon and go to Romania. At that time he needed a Cavalry officer, there was no CGI yet and cavalries could only be had in Eastern European countries so … anyway that is how the whole thing began.

Then MGM pulled out but I was already in London and my wife had fallen in love with England. So it happened that I stayed with him, I loved it I stayed with him for 30 years.

If you are interested in Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon the historical and sweeping epic that he was to make after 2001 – Jan Harlan, Alison Castle and Taschen have released the spellbinding - Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon. The Greatest Movie Never Made. Unquestionably the most insightful and official authority on the whole affair.

Video: Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon Studio

It is also probably worth noting that upcoming Bond director Cary Fukunaga is working with Steven Spielberg and Jan Harlan on turning Kubrick’s Napoleon into a mini series for HBO.

JAN HARLAN ON WORKING WITH STANLEY KUBRICK

By the way the term - Executive Producer mean absolutely nothing. It’s complete nonsense. I was a member of the crew, and I my job was to do whatever was required. And that is what I did. I talked. I negotiated. I got permissions. I bought things.

There were very few people around because he was slow, so for example for – Eyes Wide Shut, for those of you who have seen the film – I bought every mask in Venice myself. Is that the job of the Executive Producer? Yes! If you work with Stanley Kubrick.

He had 1 Xerox machine, 4 offices and 1 secretary but it took well over a year to do. People say he went over budget. I say yes! He went over budget by 10% but 250% over schedule.

That’s the trick.

It was just an amazing challenge, great fun and I admired this man.

The film you saw at the beginning [Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures], what is so special about it - is that everybody I asked to join me, said yes. Even difficult people like Jack Nicholson or Woody Allen. I only wanted people he particularly loved or he knew and worked with. The only person I couldn’t get was Ingmar Bergman – that was such an important person for Stanley, he admired him.

Altogether what I saw in Stanley from the beginning was respect for others. He didn’t criticise much but he raved when he saw something else which was great and I believe that this is also the mark of a great artist. You know Mozart adored Bach, Beethoven adored Mozart and so on and he adored many filmmakers.

It is interesting what Jan has just said about “you are called Executive Producer”. Stanley’s daughter Vivian made a film called the Making of The Shining which Stanley and I would supposedly Exec. Produce together.

As typical of Stanley, I was filming for the BBC, for the Arena program in the North of England and Stanley was a big fan. He was a man fuelled by curiosity, that’s how we met because he was a fan of these documentary programmes and I was sitting in my hotel room late at night working and Stanley’s driver, [Emilio D’Alessandro] his chauffeur arrives, who has his own story about Stanley [Stanley Kubrick and Me: Thirty Years at His Side] and made a film [S Is for Stanley (- 30 Years Behind the Wheel for Stanley Kubrick) it’s fascinating and touching viewing bringing touching personality to the legend of Kubrick], he arrived at my room with a VHS machine and 3 VHS video tapes and he said to me:

“Mr Stanley says that you are to watch these tapes, marked A,B and C and you are to give them back to me and tell me which one you liked best”.

So one of the cuts was Vivian’s, his daughter who directed it, she was young and as she had never done anything before so Stanley created this camera and sound equipment setup so that she could go out and shoot with.

One was Stanley’s cut and the third was a distraction.

So I had to watch all 3 and tell him which one I liked. So I had to stay on and watch them. Then the driver at about 1 in the morning would pick it all up and drive back to St. Albans from Yorkshire.

The next morning Stanley rang back and said “You are obviously working too hard, you chose the wrong one.”

In other words I had chosen the wrong tape, eventually we got there.

Some context may be needed at this point to fill in the gaps, while Kubrick was filming The Shining, Vivian Kubrick his then 17 year old daughter was shooting her own behind the scenes documentary called The Making of The Shining. The documentary is an extra on DVD and Blu-Ray releases of The Shining. During post production of The Shining, Yentob, who at the time was the Producer/Editor of the hugely influential Arena arts TV Show met Kubrick and Vivian socially.

Through this casual meeting Yentob went on to screen Making ‘The Shining’ on BBC Two as part of the Arena series, Saturday 4th October 1980 ahead of The Shining’s UK release that week. As part of this Yentob helped arbitrate between Stanley’s cut of the documentary which featured less of himself and Vivian’s cut which featured more of Kubrick.

I have to say that I’m incredibly excited because as you know Stanley, from really, the 60s onwards lived here, he made films here, he never travelled.

It didn’t matter whether it was Vietnam, or wherever, whatever place or time it had to be drivable to, for Stanley.

Earlier we talked about 2 films

- 2001, which is 50 years ago and if you think about discussion of artificial Intelligence today and how it is transforming the world and you think of the sound and voice of HAL telling Dave he couldn’t do that – I’m sorry Dave I’m afraid I can’t do that.

- If you think about Dr. Strangelove and you think about what’s going on the other side of the world.

Even Stanley would be amazed that his parody, his satire wasn’t just true it was beyond what’s actually could be happening. And of course, in terms of design, architecture and the vision of how the world would be.

Just think that in the analogue world Stanley couldn’t wait for the digital realm to arrive, you know that - he had to invent it.

He built, some of you may know about Avid or Final Cut Pro, Stanley who as we know very much in control he was obsessively interested in what he was doing and trying to find a way through it. He built this extraordinary construction which Jan and myself call a monster. It was all these VHS machines piled up on top of each other, a computer which at the time was the biggest and best you could buy but today doesn’t even compare to an iPhone. This was at a cost of probably a couple $100 000s, at least, that Warner Brothers had to pay for and at night he would go and edit just like any kid today with an iPhone.

At the funeral when Stanley was buried in St. Albans in the garden with family, friends, people he was close to and worked with. We told funny stories and I remember Steven Spielberg telling this wonderful story about Stanley, because he was a very generous man, was helping Spielberg with Schindler’s List, for Steven and many of the people you saw in that film – Stanley was there hero.

One day Steven’s secretary said to him

“um, Steven Mr. Kubrick has sent a fax machine to the office and he says you have got to put it in the bedroom and nobody else is to use it.

Because Stanley was fed up with the fact that Steven who, after all, lived in Los Angeles and Stanley lived a 24/7 life before anyone understood what that word meant, was fed up with Steven not responding quickly enough to his messages.

Steven said, so I put it in my bedroom, after a week, Kate his wife said to him

“Ok Steven, in the bedroom it’s either me or Stanley Kubrick.”

There was a long pause and Steven said, so I put it in the dressing room.

That’s how persuasive Stanley was.

This is a great event and this exhibition is really a way of seeing in to the mind of this extraordinary figure. Every film is different; every world had to be recreated and reinvented and as Jan said we live in a chaotic world, look at it now. I don’t need to tell you what it is – Stanley immersed himself in these worlds and created order and shape.

I mean 2001 is all about a realm to come but Stanley invented and created a digital world with whatever he had available.

I don’t think there is another figure like Kubrick and he belongs to this particular realm and I think it’s fantastic that this is happening and I’m delighted about it.

BFI Head of Programme and Acquisitions Stuart Brown on the BFI's upcoming STANLEY KUBRICK Season, preserving celluloid & reveals a new print of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is being made

You have got me on a back foot now trying to follow these two gentlemen.

I never actually met Stanley I started working at the BFI just before he passed away around 98. Over my career I have been responsible for organising various events and seasons and things to do with Kubrick. As a consequence I guess he does feel like a figure that’s been in my life.

The BFI’s reason to exist is to celebrate and recognise film and moving image as an art form, as Alan was kind of saying today we are drowning in moving image. I look at my teenage kids and all they do is swipe between devices and consume media and moving image. It’s not all art but some of it is and that’s why the BFI is there. And in that context really Kubrick probably is the master of the masters.

There are a bunch of filmmakers that are elevated in terms of the work they create, and it is work that touches people’s lives and I think more often than not Kubrick’s films changes people’s lives and they change on a very deeply intellectual level they way people think about the world.

So even though I never met him, he does feel like somebody who’s in my life and I do return to his work.

When the Design Museum got in touch with us to say that the show was finally coming to UK. It felt very exciting, as it has been a bit of a saga to get this exhibition to happen in the UK.

It feels like a moment for us to present Stanley Kubrick’s work, very importantly, in the conditions he designed them to be seen and I return to the point about younger generations using media and consuming images. There is a lot of interesting artistic moving imagery it’s designed for different environments; gallery spaces, small screens, etc. and really it’s very important that audiences get the chance to get in the dark, sit in a great cinema, with great sound, a big screen and see his films projected on celluloid. Something we will be doing is making sure all Kubrick’s films are shown on actual film because that’s the way Kubrick, who was intensely meticulous about his creative process, that’s the way he liked things to be seen and that’s the way we will be presenting them.

We are, we are, we are currently engaged in a programme at the BFI wherein we are making a large number of new prints, we are on a bit of a crusade, I guess, to save the art of film projection.

The whole world has gone digital and while we are not against it, at all, most things we do are digital; films are made digitally, distributed digitally and shown digitally but it’s hugely important that celluloid is preserved, restored and kept as a practise - for viewing what is an art form. So we are investing quite a lot of money in making new prints, but also thinking about how we make sure that the BFI and other venues in London, the UK & ultimately around the world, can keep showing film as the companies that make projectors are winding up and you can’t get the parts.

It’s quite a perverse scenario to think that something so commonplace and part of a huge industry is potentially going to stop. So yes, we will have a new print of A Clockwork Orange.

BFI Kubrick Season

Throughout April 2019 the BFI will present, in partnership with The Design Museum, a definitive Stanley Kubrick season at BFI Southbank. The season will offer audiences the opportunity to experience masterpieces such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Barry Lyndon (1975) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) on the big screen as Kubrick intended, with screenings being presented on celluloid wherever possible.

The season will also delve deep into the director’s oeuvre with a playful and diverse programme of events, revealing why Kubrick is considered one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. Full details of the season will be announced soon.

Jan has spoken about the many admirers of Stanley, when we later announce other details of this exhibition you will see that many of these well known figures of different generations will be committed to, and supporting the exhibition. By the way the BBC will - online, on Radio and on television. There will be lots of events around this.

Sadly Stanley passed away 20 years ago next March and this exhibition is going to be on at the end of April so it will be a moment to remember the extraordinary impact he has had and when you discover just how these films were made and how they came together much of them are about design, about technology, about the impossible made possible, they are incredible stories all of them.

From the point of view of the Design Museum it is a fascinating showcase presenting how things are made, how they are created and to reflect on an individual of remarkable skill, one who worked with major designers; Saul Bass who was tortured into 300 different versions of The Shining poster,

Eliot Noyes who was the Curator of Design at MoMa, who would end up working for IBM speculated on the nature of what a computer like HAL might be.

I think Stanley rejected the idea that Eliot would suggest a machine large enough to accommodate 5 operators, which caused a certain amount of delay. But on the other hand when you think about 2001 it also did for all intents and purposes show a prototype of an iPad in it.

If you think about A Clockwork Orange it is a critique of Brutalism, one of the more difficult scenes was shot in Skybreak House, one of the first buildings Richard Rodgers and Norman Foster designed together.

If you think about Barry Lyndon, my personal favourite, it is the most wonderful exploration of 18th Century architecture, there is so much and it is so rich.

To finish, earlier, Jan I asked you if Stanley looked back at his earlier films, and you said no.

JAN HARLAN ON DIGITAL FILMMAKING & SOME INSIGHT INTO STANLEY KUBRICK THE MAN

Mhh. Thinking of Stanley, what I really need to say is filmmaking today is so easy and cheap with this digital equipment. It is fantastic; he would have been so envious after he saw the type of equipment that was available, that he didn’t have on Barry Lyndon.

Harlan choosing Barry Lyndon as an example is not random - many filmmakers who understand the deeper technical side of filmmaking cite Barry Lyndon as having the greatest cinematography ever committed to film. Cinematographer John Alcott won an Oscar for his work on Barry Lyndon but the amount planning that went into setting up the shots is astounding.

Some context about the level of equipment Kubrick needed to shoot Barry Lyndon can be gleaned for the video below that includes the famous NASA f/0.7 Lens.:

Video: Barry Lyndon: Use of the Mitchell BNC Camera and Zeiss Lenses

So it’s very easy to make a film no question, what’s difficult is doing a film that people want to see. And every film was, I suppose, a battle - nothing was easy.

One of the shots I just showed you was a very rare thing, which we have in the exhibition. Where Stanley talks, because he had to, to the Director’s Guild of America because he received the D.W. Griffith Award [1997] he was asked:

“What is the most difficult thing about making a film?”

And he said: “Well, Steven Spielberg summed it up quite profoundly – The most difficult thing about making a film, is getting out of the car.”

And I experienced this day after day. Everybody is there, everybody is ready, the first assistant, everyone learned their lines; they are all in their wardrobe.

Now what?

He is alone, a filmmaker is absolutely alone.

Like a painter, like a composer, like a novelist he is alone. The fact that he needs many, many other people to align with him – is a technicality.

Alan Yentob on why the Stanley KUBRICK Exhibition is an INTRIGUING prospect

Just to pick up on that, the thing about this exhibition and why it’s so critical. In order to make a film he was a great collaborator, as you say, but nevertheless, as Ken Adams says:

“Stanley knew every aspect”

This is a man who from the age of 13 had his own camera, he was employed by Look Magazine at 17, you’ll see his early photographs are amazing, he knew about design – he knew about every aspect of filmmaking, so it was quite challenging for those working with him – that is part of what makes this exhibition so fascinating.

Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest film makers of the 20th century, spent most of his time living and working in Britain. It was here that he created the battlefields of Vietnam for Full Metal Jacket (1987), an orbiting space station for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Dr Strangelove’s war room (1964). The Design Museum will stage its version of the Deutsches Filmmuseum’s hugely successful exploration of Kubrick’s life and work in London next year.

Stanley Kubrick was most inventive in his introduction of revolutionary devices to his filmmaking, such as the camera lens designed for NASA to shoot by candlelight. His fascination with all aspects of design and architecture influenced every stage of all his films. He worked with many key designers of his generation, from Hardy Amies to Saul Bass, Eliot Noyes and Ken Adam.

When not watching or making films he takes pictures, eats, drinks, dives, tries to connect to nature whilst mentally storyboarding the greatest film ever made. He also & sometimes utilises owl-themed gadgets to fight crime.

A list of his 133 favourite films can be found here! If you would still like to contact Craig please use any of the buttons below: